Time flew by, and more than a month passed.
Summer Day 28, Sunday, Overcast, 13:40.
Bluegrass Hills, Mine Floor 119.
Bang!
Daeron swung his pickaxe one last time; the red stone exploded, revealing the entrance to the next floor.
Without hesitation, he stood up and climbed down.
The moment his silver hair disappeared, one could see the mess inside the mine, with several black energy residues left behind by slain Shadow People that had yet to dissolve.
Daeron had cleared the mines!
Floor 120.
In the narrow space unique to treasure chest reward floors, there were two eerie stone pillars at the left and right ends, each wrapped with a green and a Red Viper statue, resembling altars sealing some great horror.
Creak!
The red treasure chest opened, and a skull-shaped key floated out from within.
Immediately, the panel provided a notification.
[You found a Skull Key! You're not quite sure what it's for, but it looks important. It has been added to your wallet.]
Daeron took a breath and said, "Finally got the Skull Key."
He knew the purpose of the Skull Key.
In Stardew Valley, once the Farmer repairs the bus and travels to the Calico Desert, they can use this key to enter the desert-exclusive Skull Cavern.
An upgraded version of the mines.
Serpents, Mummies, Iridium Bats, Pepper Rexes—
All sorts of powerful monsters are unlocked within the Skull Cavern.
But this mine also has benefits that the regular mines do not.
Every time you enter, the Skull Cavern resets to Floor 0. The deeper you go, the higher the probability of treasure chest floors appearing, which can yield many precious items.
For example, the Auto-Petter.
A machine placed in a Chicken Coop or Barn that pets the animals in place of the Farmer, steadily increasing their friendship level.
At the same time, the depths of the Skull Cavern contain a rare ore not found in regular mines—Iridium Ore. Iridium Bars smelted from Iridium Ore are essential for upgrading tools and various advanced buildings.
Such as Warp Totems, gnome huts, and so on.
"With the Skull Key, all that's left is to determine the location of the Calico Desert."
Daeron estimated it would be somewhere in the Dornish Desert.
While he was thinking, the panel changed.
In the special abilities and items column, a Skull Key entry appeared.
Forest Magic was no longer alone.
The panel simultaneously issued a quest:
[You found a strange key in the depths of the mines.]
Find the purpose of the Skull Key.
Since the beginner tutorial quests ended, the quest log rarely refreshed.
Daeron became more determined to find the Skull Cavern.
"But I have to wait a bit. Even though I have a prismatic shard, I still can't trade it for the galaxy sword."
After upgrading to the Gold Pickaxe, he immediately smashed the meteorite.
It dropped one prismatic shard, six pieces of Iridium Ore, a pile of coal, and an Omni Geode—
Normally, after obtaining the first prismatic shard, one would go to the Calico Desert, find the Altar of Yoba, and sacrifice the prismatic shard to obtain a galaxy sword.
But he didn't know the depths of the Dornish Desert and couldn't confirm the location of the Calico Desert.
Without a reliable guide, the Dornish Desert was a forbidden zone.
The "Young Dragon" Daeron I's military prowess was unmatched, but when his army contended with the Dornish in the desert, they were worn away to nothing by the wind and sand.
Daeron would not risk his life.
Of course, the more critical point was that with his current strength, entering the Skull Cavern would be asking for a beating.
When he played the game, he didn't like going to the Skull Cavern much either.
One out of ten times, he'd be knocked out and lose a large amount of items and money.
"Those things are too far off; let's look at the treasures right in front of me first."
Daeron opened his inventory, and a brown seed with a smooth, rounded shell appeared.
Ancient Seed: "Can it really be grown?"
!!
Daeron was ecstatic, holding the Ancient Seed and giving it two kisses.
The Ancient Seed, once activated from the artifact, can grow the best crop in Stardew Valley: Ancient Fruit.
Although the selling price is a bit lower than Starfruit, its advantage is that once planted, it can be harvested repeatedly, reaching an ideal condition of perpetual harvest.
Whether sold directly or used for wine, Ancient Fruit can create significant profits.
Daeron carefully put away the Ancient Seed and checked the rest of his inventory.
The treasure chest reward from Floor 110: a pair of Space Boots.
Space Boots: "Defense +4, Immunity +4."
It possessed almost all the combined effects of the Crab Shell Ring and the immunity ring.
One of the top-tier defensive items in Stardew Valley.
In addition, there were Dwarf Scrolls 1, 2, and 3, a Lead Rod, a bone sword, and various gems—
There were tools, special weapons, gems, and ores.
Daeron focused on the Dwarf Scrolls and found that the fourth volume was still missing. He said helplessly, "I have several copies of the first three, but the fourth one just won't drop."
Collecting all four Dwarf Scrolls and donating them to the Museum yields the Dwarvish Translation Guide.
Allowing one to learn the Dwarvish language.
But the four Dwarf Scrolls are distributed across the 120 floors of the mine according to level; it requires constant grinding and a bit of luck to collect them all.
"Oh well, completing the climb and finding the Ancient Seed is already a bountiful harvest."
Daeron was easily satisfied and left the mine with his loot.
Returning to the farm.
Daeron donated the Ancient Seed artifact and other items to the Museum (shipping bin), obtained the Ancient Seed recipe, and received his first plantable Ancient Seed.
"To plant or not to plant?"
As Daeron tilled a new plot of land and scattered Basic Fertilizer, he hesitated.
According to the normal process, finding an Ancient Seed in the first year means planting it on the farm, repeatedly harvesting Ancient Fruit, and then using a Seed Maker to duplicate more Ancient Seeds.
By the time the Greenhouse is unlocked, the Ancient Seeds will have accumulated, making for a perfect match.
Daeron opened his panel.
[Farmer: Daeron Targaryen]
Farming: Level 10 (Farmer, Artisan)
Mining: Level 9 (Miner)
Foraging: Level 10 (Forester, Lumberjack)
—
Fishing: Level 10 (Fisher, Pirate)
Combat: Level 8 (Fighter)
At the bottom of the panel, it additionally showed Summer of Year 3 in Stardew Valley, having consumed one stardrop.
Daeron thought to himself: "I can't plant it now."
The sacrifice bundles for unlocking the Greenhouse were almost complete. Unlocking the Greenhouse in the third year certainly couldn't be considered fast.
It would be better to wait for the Greenhouse to unlock and plant it directly inside.
Note: "The Greenhouse is not restricted by seasons, and it won't encounter crows, lightning strikes, or Sprite events."
"The season changes tomorrow; I'll ignore these for now."
Daeron did some simple tidying up and prepared for tonight's Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.
Summer Day 28, the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies festival.
The festival content is that everyone goes to the beach on the east coast to watch the migration of the Moonlight Jellies, thereby bidding farewell to summer.
Daeron discovered a bit of another essence within it.
Night, 23:30.
—
Daeron returned to his cottage, pulled up the covers, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
The Moonlight Jellies festival was complete!
He had invited Shaena, Elia, Cersei, and others, along with a group of followers, to attend the festival and admire the breathtakingly beautiful Moonlight Jelly migration.
During that time, he sensed magic.
Howland and the Witch both attended the festival and gave him some reminders.
The Moonlight Jellies were a newly appeared special species that migrated with magic, chasing a better living environment.
The fact that they could travel to and from the east coast beach every year meant the Prince's Domain had abundant magic.
The "them" Daeron was looking for would also be within the Prince's Domain.
It just needed a little bit of guidance.
Early morning, 2:00.
Under the night sky, three dragons curled up in the southeast corner of the farm. Their three massive bodies reflected red, diamond blue, and a dark hue under the night light.
"Scree?"
Caraxes suddenly raised his head, his molten gold-like vertical pupils flashing with doubt as he looked toward the cottage where his rider was.
But he didn't act and lay back down on the lawn.
Daeron had instructed them beforehand not to run around at night.
They would scare away some guests.
Inside the cottage.
Daeron entered a dreamland, and a small green Apple hopped out from the white mist in his dream.
A Junimo!
"Gigu gigu—"
The green Junimo waved its thin, line-like arms, saying something with a bit of nervousness.
Daeron was groggy in his dream, but he could hear clearly.
The little Junimo was introducing itself; its name was Apple.
The Junimo was just like its name.
Junimo Apple said they were not an original race of the continent of Westeros but had suddenly appeared on this continent following the Red Comet.
Before Daeron opened the farm, they were bullied and had been in a state of homelessness for a long time.
He seriously suspected that those bullying them were the Children of the Forest.
Both sides were nature spirits, severely threatening each other's ecological niche.
"Gigu gigu—"
Apple pointed outside the cottage, saying the three dragons were very terrifying, which caused them to be too afraid to see Daeron even after wandering to the Prince's Domain.
Even now, they didn't dare to appear in physical form.
The dragons' fire magic would harm the tiny Junimos.
"Gigu gigu—"
Changing the subject, Apple spoke about the sacrifice bundles.
If Daeron completed all the sacrifice bundles and the Junimos collected all the crops and items, they could completely adapt to the continent of Westeros, taking root and sprouting within the Prince's Domain, no longer afraid of being bullied.
And it guaranteed they were a harmless race that wouldn't appear before people or affect reality.
And when Daeron completed the sacrifice bundles, they would give corresponding rewards.
For example—
Bang!
A crisp sound of a hammer striking came from the farm. On the ruins of the Greenhouse next to the waterfall, two or three Junimos of different colors jumped out of thin air.
The Junimos waved their line-like limbs, their indiscernible mouths chanting something.
A bright light flashed.
In the blink of an eye, the Greenhouse appeared, as good as new.
"Guji guji—"
Apple proudly put its hands on its hips, stating that the Greenhouse sacrifice bundle was still missing some fruit, but they could help Daeron unlock it first and he could make it up later.
Daeron was quite delighted and wanted to reach out and feel the little Apple: "Thank you."
He didn't manage to touch it.
After repairing the Greenhouse, Apple was visibly tired. It waved its line-like arms and said in Junimo language: "Farmer—Goodbye."
Then, with a 'biu', it disappeared from the dream.
The next day.
Fall Day 1, Monday, Sunny, 10:00.
In front of the cottage door.
The 28 Quality Sprinklers had finished their work, and green sprouts were emerging from the tilled land, all of them newly sown Pumpkin Seeds.
"Cluck cluck—Moo—Baa—"
.
In the Chicken Coop and Barn, there were plenty of chickens, ducks, cows, sheep, and pigs, walking out to graze on the blue grass, incredibly leisurely.
Inside the Greenhouse.
Daeron planted the Ancient Fruit and, on the edge of the floor, planted an Orange Sapling exchanged with a Prize Ticket.
Prize Tickets were rewards for completing tasks posted on the quest log after it was unlocked.
Each Prize Ticket could be exchanged for one gift.
The Orange Sapling was one of them.
"Very good, the great undertaking of winemaking has taken its first steps."
Daeron clapped his hands, beyond satisfied.
On the farm, on the non-tillable lawn plots, he had already planted Oak Trees to produce Oak Resin.
Tappers were hanging on many of the Oak Trees.
At the base of the Oak Trees, newly crafted Mushroom Logs were placed, regularly producing various mushrooms.
Daeron also remembered to collect mushrooms to make Life Potions.